Reddit Illustrated – A quicker way to enjoy /r/aww and /r/WTF

Reddit Illustrated brings a different look to Reddit. Instead of a simple article list of stories and images, Reddit Illustrated brings a card-style UI to show a quick heading or an picture straight to the front of your screen. Though it lacks a few key features (Post-edit: A few of these features have been implemented as of this update), this unique Reddit client makes up for them with quick and convenient features.

Unless you are a lurker who enjoys the default subreddits, the first thing you will need to do is sign in. After that, you will be able to upvote and downvote stories and comments, add your personalized subreddits, and save interesting posts all from the homescreen of Reddit Illustrated. These quick actions persuade you to actually get involved with Reddit client instead of being merely an observer.

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[pullquote1 quotes=”true” align=”center” textColor=”#000000″]The quick actions make getting involved and using Reddit’s features an incredibly appealing and simple task.[/pullquote1]

The front page of Reddit Illustrated brings up your regular Reddit front page. The title of the posts shows up above a card of the image or, if it is a self-post, the text of the description will show up below the title. At the bottom of the card, there are the vote buttons, a share icon so that you can save links or pictures, and the number of karma and comments. You can also quickly hide or save a post by swiping the whole card right or left, respectively.

If you click a post, you will either see the rest of the image or the comments depending on if you click the photo/title or the comments number. From there, you can vote on comments and comment yourself. Those are about the only options in the comments section though. An inability to hide or collapse comments is an obvious inconvenience despite the color-coding system used (Post-edit: You can now collapse and share individual comments in the updated version). You also cannot share or report comments. The only convenience Reddit Illustrated has is the ability to open the post in a browser and jump to the tops of comments.

Although Reddit Illustrated can generally keep up with the bigger Reddit clients like Reddit News, Reddit Sync, and Bacon Reader, it lacks a few features that we have come to expect from any type of reader app. I, for one, always use a night theme any time I use an app, but Reddit Illustrated offers no such option. You are unable to access your saved posts or even view your comments or submitted links. Finally, you cannot access subreddits from a post. All of these features are almost necessary for a Reddit app, and hopefully Reddit Illustrated can catch up to its competitors quickly.

Despite the lack of these key features, Reddit Illustrated offers something new for Reddit users. Big, full pictures are a welcome addition instead of thumbnails, and the quick actions make getting involved and using Reddit’s features an incredibly appealing and simple task.

What we liked

Stylish card-style UI.

Quick actions allow for easy Redditting.

What could be improved

Lots of standard features missing like a night theme, multiple accounts, and a way to hide/collapse (Updated!) comments.

Pictures could fit into the card image area, but memes and other common pictures get cropped out.

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